State Leaders Get a Firsthand Look at Bennington’s Development Pipeline

Originally published by Vermont Business Magazine on August 18, 2026

Vermont Department of Economic Development leaders joined the Bennington County Regional Commission and other partners for a project immersion tour that demonstrated just how much redevelopment is occurring across Bennington at the same time.

Stops included Bradford Mill/Lauzon Machine Shop, Benn High, the Putnam Block, Monument Place and the former Southern Vermont College campus/The Orchards. Together, the projects represent investment in housing, commercial development, community services and the reuse of significant historic and formerly underutilized properties.

The importance of the tour was not simply any individual project. Taken together, these sites show a community assembling a genuine development pipeline. State, federal, municipal and private investment are converging on several properties, creating opportunities to increase housing, strengthen downtown activity and put difficult redevelopment sites back into productive use. For prospective investors, that concentration of activity is itself an important economic signal.

Read the Department of Economic Development update at Vermont Business Magazine